By Definition: Book IV: The Rise of the Triplets
by danceoftheheart
Summary: Diapers, 3am feedings...and of course love...that's what little ones are made of.
1. Chapter 1

By Definition: Book IV

Part I

_Sleep: That fleeting moment just before the alarm goes off._

_Clock: A small mechanical device to wake up people without children._

We have been blessed with the births of three healthy children; something that, despite my doctor's reassurances to the contrary, I wasn't sure was going to happen. Since the day we found out we were pregnant with triplets, my life has changed into something I certainly never would have thought it could become. Not only am I fortunate enough to have found a soul-mate in my husband but we've now got a family that neither of us ever thought we'd have. Triplets. At times, I'm still overwhelmed by the idea but that doesn't change how I feel in my heart. I've known them less than forty-eight hours and already I can't imagine my life without them.

Gil's enchanted. I've never seen him so content or so openly joyous. Every little reaction, every minor sound or facial expression he witnesses is a cause for celebration. One of the children will do something and he'll look up at me with this…rapturous sparkle in his eyes…and…well, it just takes my breath away each time. I've never seen him more at ease with the world or himself than he is when he's holding one of them in his arms.

Yes, everything is perfect. Everything is complete and wonderful…or it would be if we could just get a little sleep.

I have discovered the true meaning of exhaustion. Two new parents times three newborns plus bi-hourly feedings minus any help whatsoever equals no sleep. Divide all of that by three dirty diapers every 3.2 hours and you get a sum that would terrify the most gifted of mothers; not to mention a few mathematicians.

I state here and now that I've got a new respect and frankly a severe case of hero worship for any mother who's dealt with four, six, or (gasp!) eight births at once. Three babies are enough to have me spinning in circles. I have no idea how they made it through the first few days.

Sometime around five am this morning I realized that we weren't going to be able to keep up to this pace much longer. Gil and I needed to get a couple of hours of solid sleep and the way things were going that just simply wasn't going to happen unless we could get some help. It was a realization I'd spent the better part of the night fighting but I had to admit that I was almost to the point of surrender.

I was still recovering from the c-section. I had to watch how I was lifting and my movements were sluggish and a little off balance thanks to the mild pain relievers I was taking. I just counted my blessings that I hadn't felt the need to take the stronger pills they'd given me on my way out of the hospital. All we needed was for me to be looped up on painkillers. Gil had enough to contend with right now without trying to chase me down from the rafters.

Currently, he was pacing the room with Aaron, trying to soothe him. I'd fed our son a little while ago so while I had my arms full of Dani, Gil was trying to get Aaron to sleep. He paced in and out of the room staying close in case I needed him. My mobility was still a little on the slow side so if Nicole woke up I wouldn't be able to soothe her in time before she disturbed the others.

Dani was fussing away and I really felt for her. I could tell she was hungry but she couldn't seem to settle enough to latch on properly. I was pretty sore so every missed attempt was making me as upset and frustrated as she was getting. I changed her to my other arm and thankfully she started to nurse. I almost burst into tears at the speed in which she calmed down and cuddled into me. I eased back in the rocker, a sigh of relief escaping my lips as I watched her suckle. We had gentle music playing in the background and I hummed along with it as I watched the angry red colour fade from her cheeks. It was a beautiful thing. Within minutes she had drifted off.

We'd discovered that incredibly, the tiny additions to our family had distinctly different personalities almost from day one. Dani had a temper. She wasn't afraid to let someone know things were not to her liking. Nicole was placid, almost peaceful in comparison. She rarely cried and overall seemed to take her new experiences in stride. Aaron was smack dab in the middle. You never really knew what he'd take offense to because it was never the same way twice. He really kept you guessing.

Lips brushed my hair and a hand drifted softly over my shoulder. I looked up to find Gil watching us from behind my chair; Aaron nestled into the crook of his neck. I looked quickly over to Nicole's bed and then back at Gil. His eyebrows rose in surprise at the quiet in the room. "All three asleep?" he mouthed, turning so that I could get a good look at Aaron.

I nodded, unable to believe what I was seeing. It was the first time in three days that they'd all gone to sleep at the same time. Gil made a couple of gestures which I interpreted as his intention to put Aaron down and I rose stealthily from the chair as he did so. Aaron let out a little fussy mewl but slipped further into sleep a few seconds after Gil placed him in the bassinette. I repeated much the same process with Danielle and held my breath. Nothing. Not a peep. Nothing but contentedly, sleeping children. I silently snatched the baby monitor from the changed table and jerked my head at the door. We backed out of the room with all of the care that one would use around a movement sensitive explosive device and eased the door to the bedroom closed.

We stared at each other…a little awkwardly to tell the truth…not exactly sure how to interact with each other after two days of non-stop baby duty. And then, accompanied by silly little grins, Gil opened his arms and I dove for them, driven by an undeniable need to reconnect.

I don't know how long we stood there, gathering strength, comforting each other while rediscovering intimacy, but it felt so good while we did. We finally managed to pull away long enough to exchange a kiss and then moved away from the door. We crept downstairs and went right for the coffee, the two of us grinning like precocious children. I was still firmly stuck in my, 'no caffeine' routine but decaffeinated or not, coffee was the only thing getting me through this so any amount of the stuff was welcome.

We brought our mugs into the living room and dropped into the couch, using each other as a prop to stay upright. "How are you feeling?" Gil asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

I patted his knee. "Fine. I'm fine, Gil." Normally, I would have left it at that but the obvious disbelief on his face pushed me to add, "A little sore but nothing more than that." I yawned. "Mmm. Tired."

"Me too. I know you aren't going to like this-" he began, almost singing the words.

"Then don't say it," I sweetly sang back. "I don't have the strength to argue with you right now."

"Yes, I know. A fact which I'm going to exploit to our mutual benefit." He grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. "I think we've done an incredible job up to this point."

"Gil-"

"Everyone's settled in, everyone's happy and fed but we can't keep this up. We need a couple of hours of downtime. And not because we can't handle but more importantly, I don't want to just 'handle' it. I want to enjoy it. I don't want to miss out on anything but I'm very concerned that that's going to happen if we don't get some rest."

I looked at him narrowly. "That was a pretty clever piece of manipulation. How long have you been working on that?"

"Oh, an hour or so. While I was pacing with Aaron. I wanted it to have just the right impact so I plotted it out carefully."

I snorted into my mug. "Pretty effective."

"And sincere. Don't doubt that, Sara."

"I know. Don't worry, I know. To be perfectly honest, my mind was already circling this area when I was feeding Dani." I sighed. As uncomfortable as I was with the idea, we'd called an agency that employed mother's aids but as luck would have it, the earliest we could get someone to come out was the day after tomorrow. Gil and I had been trying to hold out until then but I could see it just wasn't going to happen. It wasn't so much the thought of asking for help that bothered me, it was the privacy issue. I wasn't quite ready to share my children with anyone just yet but it would only be for an hour or two, right? Besides, if I had to share, it would be easier to do it with our friends than a stranger. And Gil had a point when he'd said that we'd be the better for it. I didn't want to miss anything either. Though it went against every independent fiber of my body, I knew that for the triplet's well-being, I was going to have to call in a few favors.

I considered my options for a moment. While Greg or Brass might have been my first choices just from a comfort perspective, I knew I'd be better off going with someone else this time. I picked up my cell phone and called the one person I figured would be able to not only bring herself but reinforcements to boot.

I got her voice mail. Groaning, I hung up, thinking about who to call next but just as I was about to dial someone else, the cell phone went off. Catherine was on the other end. "Sara? Hi! I didn't expect to hear from you guys for a couple of days. Figured you'd be settling in."

"Well, that was the plan. Um…actually, I was hoping I…um…" I didn't think asking for help was going to be this hard but it shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did. I'd never really mastered the art of leaning on anyone else for support. "Cath, would you be able to come over for an hour or so? Gil's like the walking dead and I'm not much better. It would mean a lot if we could just grab a bit of sleep."

"Well now I've heard everything. Sara Sidle Grissom actually admitting that she could use some sleep."

I took the razzing better than I thought I would. "Yeah. Hey, I'm human. I do sleep sometimes." Despite my weariness I grinned into the phone. "I'll beg if that's what it takes."

"Don't you dare. I don't think I could handle that. If I come over, do I get to hold one?"

"One? If you come over you can take turns with each and every one of them to your heart's content!"

"Oooohhh, new baby snuggles! Good deal! I'll see if Mom and Lindsey want to come too. They've been talking about you guys non-stop since they saw you in the hospital."

I gave myself a mental 'high-five' in hearing that she wasn't coming alone. "Coffee's on. We'll be waiting."


	2. Chapter 2

By Definition: Book IV:

Part II

_Recipe: __A series of step-by-step instructions for preparing ingredients you forgot to _

_buy, in utensils you don't own, for a dish you'll never make._

_Classic :__ Books, which people praise, but do not read. _

_Consciousness: The time between naps._

_Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight._

"And then the baby bears said, 'Someone's been sitting in our chairs but they broke them aaaaallllll apart!' Amd the Mama bear said, 'That's okay kids, we'll dust for fingerprints and figure out exactly who's been wrecking our stuff.'." Greg looked up from the picture said to Danielle, "Wow, pretty exciting stuff, hey Dani? Let's just turn the page and see what happens next. Oooohhh look at this! Papa bear is getting in on the action. Papa bear pulled out his special 'Red Creeper' fingerprint powder-with its super secret recipe that he selfishly keeps to himself-"

"Greg-"

"-and won't share with anyone," Greg went on despite Grissom's growl," out of his rigidly, over-organized field kit-"

"This from the guy who uses cartoon characters to identify his-"

"Shhh, Griss, I'm trying to finish," Greg said piously. "Now where was I?"

"You were in the middle of destroying a timeless classic," my husband offered acerbically.

"Improving, Griss. Improving!" Greg answered, almost singing it at the baby in his arms.

I was forced to agree. So far I liked Greg's version much better than the traditional. "You were about to dust for prints," I interjected, vastly entertained by both Greg's story and Gil's reactions.

"The Red Creeper powder. Right. Thanks, Sara. The Papa bear took the dusting powder out of his kit and coated all the chair arms in red. When no fingerprints appeared he said, 'Hmmmmm…the suspect must have worn gloves! That means the crime was premeditated. Wow! More excitement and the plot thickens. Premeditated: just a big word that means planned, Miss Danielle, but you already knew that, didn't you hun? Yes, you did. I know you did because you're a smart little girl just like your mama! Anyway, the Mama bear said, 'Let's go check out the kitchen and see if there are any clues in there. And then the Papa bear said, 'Excellent, Mama Bear. If the intruder ate anything, there could be DNA!' Boy, that Papa bear doesn't miss a trick, does he?"

I snorted at Greg's pandering jibe. "He's one in a million, alright."

Gil looked at Greg suspiciously but as his hands were full changing Nicole's diaper there was little else he could do but listen to Greg rattle on.

"What do you think, Dani? Are there any clues in the kitchen?" The infant in his arms reached out a hand and caught Greg's lower lips in her tight little grip. "I'll take that as a yes," he muttered as she pinched. "Let's go check out the kitchen. Maybe your mom baked cookies."

"In the container by the stove, Greg," I called, grinning at his foolishness. I'd made a batch especially for him, knowing he was planning on visiting us right after shift. We were finally settled into the new house and though there were a million boxes still left to unpack, the movers had done a spectacular job of getting us relocated in under a day. We'd hired cleaners to go through the old place before the new owners took it over so it was just a matter of finding the time to unpack what was left.

Most of our appliances had already been installed but there was a delay on the oven. Someone had failed to measure things correctly and we were forced to make due until the adjustments were handled. However, that too hadn't been that hard to get though. This morning, bright and early, the new stove had been delivered and I'd been anxious to give it a test run, so in the twenty-five minutes I had free between naps this morning, I whipped up Greg's favorite cookies and then read the newspaper while they baked. It was like a mini vacation. I was absurdly proud of myself for accomplishing such a menial task.

The triplets were a month old now and while the idea of them sleeping through the night was a distant pipedream at least their night time habits were beginning to become synchronized. Generally, the kids woke up twice for a quick feeding and change (often within the space of the same hour), a much appreciated change from the first few weeks after they were born, and then went back to sleep readily enough. Daytime was still chaotic but we were starting to get the hang of things with the help of the Elsa Olsen, our part time Mother's aid.

Elsa was a find! She was twenty-six, the product of a huge family with whom she was still very close, and the answer to our prayers. Out of ten brothers and sisters, her mother boasted three sets of twins: two sets identical, one set fraternal. Elsa was one half of the oldest set of twins, having an identical sister who apparently was a Naval pilot. She was confident, cheerful, and frankly, beautiful; a fact that would have scared the bejesus out of most new mothers but didn't even phase me. Gil wasn't the type mess around and Elsa was a professional above all else. Besides, on the couple of occasions I'd had a chance to observe them, there was another person entirely who seemed to catch Elsa's attention. She and Greg seemed to have this instant connection. In fact, I'd lay odds that her eminent arrival was primarily what had motivated Greg into driving all the way out to the new house after shift rather than making the trek home to his apartment. Aaron started to fuss, calling me back from whatever planet I'd drifted off to and I realized I had zoned there for a few moments.

I tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Gil say, "You're still not getting the recipe, Greg."

"Actually, it's not the recipe I need as much as the processing information," Greg fired back. "I know what's in it. I ran a chemical analysis on it years ago. I just can't figure out what binds it all together."

Gil sported a feral grin when he shot back, "Any idiot could figure out the chemical composition, Greg."

"Oooh, Dani! Your dad's got a mean streak. Tell you what. You bat your pretty blue eyes at him and see if he'll give in. He's a sucker for that sweet baby face of yours." Greg held my daughter up a little so that her face was at a better angle to Gil's. "Please daddy," Greg begged in an atrocious falsetto, "please tell Greg the secrets of your creeper dust. There's two hundred dollars riding on him figuring it out before Hodges."

"Greg you didn't!" I shifted Aaron to the other shoulder.

"Sara, I had to. It was a matter of honor. That creep thinks he's the hottest thing on wheels and I want…no, I NEED to take him down. You should have heard him in the breakroom the other day; bragging about how he almost had it figured out. Stupid-"

"Careful, Greg." Gil's tone was both amused and censorious in nature.

"Sorry, Griss. Uncle Greg should be using words like that, should he sweetheart?" He rocked Dani for a second and then said, "First one of us who gets a working formula gets the pot. But the money's secondary, guys. I really want to win this one to put that…um…labrat in his place. Come on, Griss. Give me a hint."

"No."

"Griss man, you're going to have to share the secret eventually. You're not getting any younger." Greg waggled his eyebrows outrageously but my husband didn't bend.

"Who says I haven't shared it?" Gil said casually, nipping at Nicole's toes playfully. He raised his head and looked pointedly in my direction and I glared back at him with narrowed eyes.

Greg pounced. "What? Wait! No fair. You said you didn't know! You said-"

My stare promised my husband retribution before I switched my gaze to Greg. "That was four years ago," I reminded him. "I didn't know then, and it was probably a good thing because I remember being more than mad enough occasionally to have let it slip if I had." I waited a beat. "And I would have been justified, right Gil?"

"Possibly, but honey, all that aside, you certainly knew enough of the recipe to have given Greg a good start." His eyes challenged me right back.

Ohhh, so Gil wanted to play. "I suppose I knew as much as any of the lab crew did. I'm sure, had I wanted to, I would have been able to figure it out. It wasn't high on my list of priorities."

My husband began to pace with Nicole his lips twitching. "Maybe not, but that didn't stop you from breaking into my stores and playing mad scientist yourself."

My eyebrows rose. "Excuse me? You must be mistaken."

"I have a beautifully clear thumbprint that says I'm not."

"But I wore gloves-" I protested and then shook my head at the triumphant gleam the flooded his eyes. "You are not a very nice man. How did you know."

"That's another of my little secrets. You weren't the first," he assured me, "and you were far from the last." His smile was wicked when he asked, "How close did you get, Sar?"

I sighed, figuring I might as well come clean. "Very. My consistency wasn't quite as fine as yours but it worked."

Greg groaned. "So why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell. I was curious, that's all. Besides, like I said, I was close. Not exact. I now know what was wrong with my initial attempts."

"How?"

"Because Grissom gave me the formula for a wedding gift."

"You're kidding me! Griss-man! You sly dog, you. So romantic! You certainly know the way to a woman's heart."

Grissom ignored the sarcasm. "Well, one woman's heart anyway." He came over to me and we did the 'Great Baby Exchange' and Gil buzzed my neck in passing.

I couldn't help laughing. "Hey, worked for me."

"So, you're not going to help me?"

"Now where would be the sport in that?" I teased. "Besides, it really isn't that hard to figure out. Like I said, I almost had it. I'm sure if I'd gone at it again I would have figured out what was missing."

"You owe me," Greg reminded us shamelessly. "You two owe me big."

I dropped my head back against the top part of the rocker. "He's got a point, you know."

"Yes. I had a feeling he'd try to collect."

"Think carefully, Greg. Are you sure you want to call in a marker that big in return for the formula? I have a feeling that when I tell you what it is that you're going to feel that it's not an even exchange."

"No, Griss, I'm sure. It'll be totally worth it to beat Hodges to the finish line."

"But you've got to keep the formula to yourself, Greg. Ecklie's been trying to figure it out for years and I'm saving it for a time when I need a big favor out of him."

"No prob. Done."

"Okay, tell me what you've got so far." Greg listed off the ingredients and Gil nodded. "Yes, that's all of them. Now, take me through the processing."

"Well, I combined them and ground them together and…"

Gil shook his head. "This the same place you had problems, Sar?"

"Pretty much. I didn't account enough for you anal side." When Greg continued to look blank I said, "In order to get as fine a mixture as Grissom gets, you need to heat the powders separately before combining them together the first time. Then, once the mix is combined with the dye you heat it again before another grinding. And a third time after that. That's what makes the powder really stick to the surface of a print. It's so fine that it sinks into the oils left from the skin and won't release." I shrugged, "I didn't think heating it would make such a difference but believe me, it does."

Greg's grin split his face ear to ear. "Thank you guys! Hey, Dani, it's been fun but Uncle Greg's gotta run." He passed his bundle over to my husband gently and then hustled to the door. "See you at the lab, Griss. Bye, Sar."

"That boy is way too excited." Gil looked down at me. "Ten bucks says he burns the first batch."

"You're on."


	3. Chapter 3

By Definition: Book IV: The Rise of the Triplets

Part III

_**Wager****:**_

_**wa·ger** : /ˈweɪdʒər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation**wey**-jer Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation_

_–noun _

_1. something risded or staked on an uncertain event; bet: to place a wager on a soccer match_

_2. the act of betting_

_3. the subject or terms of a bet_

_Source: dictionary . com _

"Hey Guys!"

"Griss-Man!"

"Sunshine!"

"Baby Brigade!"

Needless to say out first visit to the lab after their births aroused a bit of a stir.

"First road trip, eh?" Catherine came up close to coo down at the three. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how much they've grown! Hey there, Nicole. Oh, look at the yawn! You tired them out."

I maneuvered the side by side by side stroller into the centre of the room and shot her an exhausted grin. "Yes. They've had a little excitement today. We're trying to be efficient.

We had a late doctor's appointment for a check up and needed to grab some supplies so we decided to press our luck and check in here. We're sort of taking advantage of the fact that they're still getting up every couple of hours. They don't care if it's night or day yet and we're still on nightshift hours." Now nearly two months old to the day the three little visitors to the lab quickly began to gather an audience. More and more people started to file into the break room to say hello. Had to admit it was pretty cool.

"Ooo…ambitious," Catherine agreed. "How's it going so far?"

"Good," Gil answered. "Really well, actually. It all comes down to careful planning."

I rolled my eyes at that and lifted Aaron out so that Uncle Nick could have a little one on one. "What our brilliant leader is trying to say is that we saved the lab for last so that if everything fell apart by that time we'd have lots of able hands." I grinned shamelessly at the mass of faces around me. "Who's up for diaper duty?"

There were several groans and a few people who backed quickly away but we had a couple of takers. Greg came up and snagged Danielle. "Hi princess. Your uncle Greg will have that diaper changed in no time, right? We've got this down." He mugged at her for a minute and she watched him like he was some newly-discovered alien life form but seemed entertained all the same. "So, no Elsa today?"

"No, sorry Greg. We're flying solo. It's her day off. She's away for the weekend boating with her family. Shall I tell her you asked for her?"

I could see Greg playing the angles on that one. "Yeah, I think tat would be good. Give me a bit of a leg up."

"Who's Elsa?" Warrick asked, moving in to tickle Nicole over Catherine's shoulder.

"Our mother's aid," Gil told him, hovering over Nicole.

"The keeper of our sanity," I put in, passing out diapers and wipes. "Greg's current crush."

"Really? Been keeping that close, Greg."

"Didn't want the competition, Nick," he returned.

"Now how is that fair?" Nick complained, "Letting Greg have a running start?"

"Don't look at me," Gil said, shaking his head at me when I offered a small tube of diaper cream. "No, she's good this time, Sar."

I shrugged, offering the tube of cream to the others. "Just timing, Nick. Greg got lucky with one of his visits and they seemed to hit it off. Oh, which reminds me. Greg?"

"Yes?"

"I have no problem with you dating her…in fact I wish you the best of luck 'cause I think you'd really would make a cute couple…but man, if you piss her off and cause her to quit you're on diaper duty until I can find someone every bit as good to replace her."

"Though the thought of having Greg hanging around our home that much scares the heck out of me, I'll second that."

"Oh come on, Griss. You know we'd have fun." Greg put the finishing touches on Dani's change and began to slip her back into her onesie. "Oh, speaking of fun, you guys picked a momentous day to visit. It's really cool that you're here because I have an announcement. I believe I managed to nail your creeper formula."

"The print-dust formula? Way to go, Greg!" Nick slapped him on the back. A few of the others chimed in but stopped when someone cleared their throat loudly.

"Sorry to put a damper on things, Greg, but I'm afraid that you're a day late. I got a working formula yesterday at four thirty-five am so I believe the congratulations should be going to me."

He smiled smugly, waiting for his share of the praise. It was a little lacking.

I felt sorry for the guy, especially as Greg had had a little help from us and jumped into the breech. "Well, hell, I'm impressed. How long have you been trying?"

"Oh, off and on since I switched to nights. Just a little project to pick at during my down times. I must say, Grissom, just genius. It's a really tight formula. Very impressive."

"Thanks, David. I did my best." Gil's voice was almost bland; most people in the room couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere. Most people. I knew the difference and gave him a sharp little look.

Why was it whenever men's egos got dinged a woman had to step in a play referee? "Well, there you go. I guess you edged out Greg."

"B.S.," Greg said, letting Mia take Dani for a turn about the room. "If you managed to do that you'd hardly have waited this long to tell me."

"I got busy," David told him.

"No way, Hodges. I announced first. It's mine."

I exchanged looks with Gil and murmured into his ear. "Wow, dinner and a show. You might want to jump in here."

"Not on your life," he returned, grinning. "I refuse to have anything to do with this. Besides, Catherine is acting supervisor for another two weeks. It's all on her."

Hodges wasn't backing down. "I believe the wager detailed who got a working prototype first, not who announced first so I believe the money is mine. You're out of luck."

"I am not-"

"You are. The announcement time shouldn't matter."

"Yes, it does."

"But if you're determined to be that anal about things, I did announce it yesterday."

"Not to me."

"No, you were at a scene," David told him patiently, as if explaining it to one of the babies. "Archie, however, was in his lab. He can verify everything I've just said."

All heads turned to Archie who shuffled his feet and shrugged. "Yeah, sorry Greg. He called me in just after you left. Stuff looks pretty good to me."

"We'll let Grissom be the judge of that," Greg muttered, but began to reach for his wallet. "Fine. Whatever. Everybody ante up." With the exception of one person, the lab techs and Greg began to form a little circle and money began to emerge from wallets.

"Wait," Mia said, "what exactly was this bet about?"

"First person with a working version of Grissom's Red Creeper Fingerprint dust gains two hundred and fifty dollars," Hodges told her, collecting his winnings.

"Was this open to anyone? Or is this an 'all guys' thing?"

Mandy shook her head. "No, I was trying for a while too. I've just been wayyyy too busy lately to mess around with it. It's pretty open-ended. We were all trying for it."

"Why wasn't I told, then?" Mia asked.

Hodges chose to answer. "I don't know. Guess we just didn't think you'd be interested."

"Really? That's very funny, especially considering I figured out that formula months ago."

"You did what?"

"No way."

"Come on!"

"Some of us have been trying for years!"

Mia waited until the noise died down and passed Dani back into my arms. "No, see…" She reached into her pocket and pulled out her smartphone. A couple of clicks later and she found the file she was looking for. "Yeah, here it is. November of last year." There was an eerie silence in the room as she continued, "Lab was slow, I was bored…started messing around…well…I was curious." Still no response from the techs or Greg. "Look, it's not like it was that hard. Once I figured out the heating process…it only took me a couple of hours to get it right."

Hodges was the first one to jump into the breech. "You didn't announce it."

"I thought you said it didn't matter who announced first." Greg volleyed back, peeking at Mia's notes. "Yeah, it's all there." The group as a whole started forking over money to Mia, including Hodges, and conversation started buzzing around the room again.

Gil leaned into me, "By rights, that money should be yours."

I shook my head. "I'm good." Mia's little coupe had broken the tension in the room completely and the atmosphere had returned to the comfortable, excited level that it had been when we first entered. Some of the crowd began to thin as people headed back to their labs and work stations and babies were slipped back into their stroller seats. "Why don't you go to your office and check in. I'll take the first watch and then we can head home."

"Sounds good. I may be a while."

I eyed the people left, took in their teasing, their voices and realizing how much I missed being part of that, shrugged. "That's alright." I settled into a chair with a perfectly content smile on my face. "I'll just sit here and enjoy."

A/N: And you thought Greg was going to win…silly humans!


	4. Chapter 4

By Definition: Book IV: The Rise of the Triplets

_Merry Christmas: (Phrase) Anything that brings you closer to the ones you love._

Christmas Eve

Grissom Household

3:30 am

"_Just what makes that little old ant  
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant  
Anyone knows an ant, can't  
Move a rubber tree plant_

But he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes  
He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time you're gettin low  
stead of lettin go  
Just remember that ant  
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant…

_Oops there goes another rubber tree plant…_

_Oops there goes another rubber tree plant."_

In the wee small hours of the morning, I was woken by my husband's croon and a baby's soft cooing. I stretched lazily and rolled over, not feeling the slightest guilt over the fact that my husband was seeing to the needs of whichever baby had demanded his attention, though mildly shocked by the fact that I had slept through whatever had woken him.

_Well, maybe not so shocked after all_, I decided, thinking back to the day I'd had.

Elsa had come down with a pretty serious cold and we'd decided that it would be best not for her to come to work in order to keep her from giving it to the kids. It was a sensible idea but one that had come a little too late. Before most of the morning had passed, Aaron and Nicole had both been sporting runny noses and tempers beyond reason. Danielle had managed to escape the bug so far but the fussiness of her siblings wasn't easily ignored. Her emotions were a little close to the surface as well. To put it mildly, it had not been a banner day in the Grissom household.

Mind you though, I got through it so that in itself was a major coupe. A couple of months ago I know I would have conniptions if anyone had presented this scenario to me but somehow, I was beginning to get comfortable with this parenting thing. We both were. Truth be told, I sometimes thought that Gil was much more the natural parent than I was. Very little fazed him. Whether it was by luck or design, Gil had slipped into fatherhood much like the way one would slip into a worn, comfortable pair of slippers. Overall he seemed very content with his lot in life and though I was happier than I could have dreamed, a small part of me envied the ease in which he floated through the day to day business of being a new father.

The singing had stopped and I heard the soft rustlings that indicated that Gil had moved closer to one of the cribs and was in the process of putting the baby back onto the mattress. Even though I know it made little difference, I held my breath as he did so, praying that the baby was tired enough to ignore the transfer and keep on sleeping.

I gave into the inevitable and rolled over on my side to glance at the clock. The neon green digital display boldly told me it was just shy of three am on Christmas morning. I moaned good-naturedly realizing that we had only a precious couple of hours to sleep before our household would awaken and forge an attack on the tree…not to mention the presents beneath!

What a battle it had been, keeping all of those curious little hands away from the ribbons and bows, not to mention keeping the ornaments out of little mouths. I'm very ashamed to admit that I pulled a Martha Stewart. Not only that but I tried to outdo her. Yeah. I know. Scored big on the stupidity meter with that trick but I really wanted the kids first Christmas to be special. We had company due in the latter part of the day and I had this vision of…of…well, I don't know, red and green and candles and a fire and laughter and…well, I could go on. I focused on getting the perfect Christmas card holiday and I did everything I could to make it happen. I'd tried to be extra-organized this year…buying early, wrapping as soon as I bought, having the tree and the house decorated by the first weekend in December…having Gil cook…I wasn't stupid enough to attempt that part myself but I did bake…and just a thousand tiny things that I thought would add up to the perfect Christmas day. Little did I know I'd made some major miscalculations.

Having the tree decorated so early meant that I had to be on constant watch. I felt just like a soldier, guarding it from incumbent forces. There were moments that I sincerely believed that the triplets were conducting strategy meetings to take me down. They had very little regard for decorating schemes. This is something I feel should have been obvious from the start but my sleep deprived brain simply didn't make the connection. I think I spent more time redecorating the tree in that first weekend than all the other trees I'd decorated in my entire life. Four days later it simply proved to be too much. So now, we have a half decorated tree. The top half. Anything within infant reach has been relocated to higher elevation. Gil, being the brilliant man I knew him to be when I married him, wisely made no comment.

Oh, and this business of buying early? Only works if you stop shopping once you've filled your list. And by that I mean completely. No department stores, no browsing online, no grocery stores. NOTTTA! ZIP! Normally, I have the willpower of an ox. We have a budget in this household and I am the person who oversees it but…oh, man…I couldn't help myself! Every time I turned around there was a cute stocking stuffer, or an adorable sweater or a toy…sigh! The only saving grace in this whole scenario is that I didn't pay full price for anything. I bargain hunted every item down to the last penny so I didn't spend nearly as much as I could have. Still, there was a very real possibility that after the kids tore into the packages we might have to add on an addition to the house just to accommodate it all. Gil was no better. Half of that mountain of loot under the tree was the result of his impulse buys too.

I managed to get my standard stuff done. Donations to the animal shelter and food banks…fit in a couple of hours volunteering at the lab's pet projects: the toy drive and adopt-a-family in need…visits to Santa…I chuckled evilly. That was an experience.

The mattress gave and soon I was wrapped head to toe in Grissom. "You are supposed to be asleep," he groaned, stretching a little before relaxing completely.

"Yeah, I know." I giggled harder, snuggling into his embrace a little deeper.

"Care to let me in on the joke?"

"Okay. Do you think the mall Santa has recovered from our visit yet?"

"One would hope he'd have more fortitude than to let three half-crazed infants run him out of town but…hell, I would have quit on the spot. Mind you, I would have been smarter than to insist on trying to get a picture with all three of them at once."

I nodded, laughing harder. "Oh, that poor man! I tried to warn him. In his case, 'S' stands for 'Santa Claus', not 'Superman.'"

Gil snorted into my neck. "You tried to warn him and so did I. I refuse to feel guilty about it."

"The three of them had him de-bearded in seconds. Then when Aaron grabbed his hat-"

"And Nicole started crying while Dani was trying to climb him-"

"Oh my god, what a disaster! I can't wait to show those pictures to the gang this afternoon." The photography elf, obviously a little more experienced than our 'Santa', had sized up the situation quickly and realized that she had better snap off a few shots right away as there was little chance of getting the kids to settle down enough to pose properly after that. Our original intention of having each of the children separately had been over-ridden by a long line up and an over-confident St. Nick. Oh well, live and learn. He's lucky it was us and not some of the stressed out, over-zealous parents we've encountered in our mall travels. We all had a good laugh. Some others would have been threatening to sue!

I shifted contentedly. "Well, let's try to get some sleep while we can. It's going to be a very busy…um…day…uh…um…honey? Are you serious?" Gil had just slipped a hand under my nightgown, his lips pressing into that overly sensitive spot on my neck. "I'm really not sure-"

But that was as far as I got. Words were lost like petals in a racing stream and I rolled into my husband's arms, forgetting about sleep altogether.

Christmas Day

Grissom Household

12:37 p.m.

BING BING!

"I'll get it," I called over my shoulder as I wiped my hands on a dishtowel and worked my way through various bodies to get to the front door. "Greg! Merry Christmas!"

"Miss Sara! Haven't seen you in a week!"

"I've been in and out of the lab. Two of my cases went to trial this week. Here, let me take your coat."

Greg pulled off his jacket, leaving him elegantly attired in a pinstripe silver shirt and dark silver tie. "Thanks. This is for you," he said, offering a bottle of wine and buzzing my cheek. "Figured I'd show up early and give you a hand but it looks like I'm one of the last ones to arrive."

I nodded cheerfully. "You are. The whole gang decided to show up early to help. Gil's cooking, with my questionable help, and the kids are being entertained so all you have to do is go in and join the fun."

"Yay!" He hefted a little red sack. "Guess I'll go play Santa."

"Oh no, not you too! I swear those children are going to be spoiled beyond recognition."

Greg chuckled. "And then some. What did you expect? Catherine's the only one with a kid and she's almost grown now. We want in on the action."

I smirked. "You could get some of your own."

He winked back. "And on that note…is Elsa here yet?"

I nodded, leaning in close. "Yep, and just between you and me she's been eying the door for the last twenty minutes. I think if someone could get up the nerve to ask her out on an official date, he might get a positive result." Greg blushed and tried to cover his embarrassment by fussing with his tie. "You look fine, Romeo. Grab yourself some eggnog and go schmooze."

I let him lead the way and soon there were shouts of welcome…not to mention some happy squeals from my children…as he found a spot and dug into his bag. I made a b-line for our kitchen, grateful once again that our main floor was open concept and all the action could be seen from where my husband was currently adding the finishing touches to our dinner. "Greg brought wine," I announced. "Should I open it or…?"

"Actually, I have a bottle chilled and ready but-" he looked at the label and nodded, "-that would go very well with dessert. There should be enough room in the wine cooler for it."

I started to put the bottle where he suggested but paused, a giggle rising in my throat as I glanced at our perfectly set table with all of its matching napkins and table service.

Gil looked up from his pots. "What?"

"Nothing," I muttered, feeling silly, the giggled all the harder as I took in the boughs of evergreen decorating the fireplace and the window sills. I'd really outdone myself.

"Sar?"

Holy cow! I hadn't really realized just how far I'd gone. For anyone else, this would probably seem quite normal but for me…actually for us…well…let's just say I'd gotten a bit carried away. Gil was waiting patiently for an explanation so I shrugged. "It's just…um…we are so…so…domestic! It just feels so strange. There are babies in the family room-we actually have a family room, and company…you're in an apron, for pity's sake, preparing gravy! We got a house full of CSI's and nary a forensic kit in sight! It's just weird."

"You planned this…all of this," he reminded me, carefully avoiding the fact that I drove him crazy in the process of pulling this off. "Every napkin, every candle…every sprig of mistletoe."

"Well, yes, but I don't think I realized until now how seriously deranged I was…um…by the way, how is it that you're still talking to me?"

"Oh, I didn't mind. I thought it was kind of…" he looked up, pausing deliberately as he leveled me with a hideous label, "…cute."

"Ughhh. I think I would like it better if you thought I was a witch. Cute. Terrific."

"You had your moments but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle." He winked at me and turned the gas burner a little higher.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Anyway, back to what I was saying, I don't think I was aware of how much our lives have changed until just this moment."

"There's some things that haven't changed. And I always wear an apron when I'm cooking. Saves on dry cleaning."

I nudged him. "Well, of the two of us, you've always been more cultured in the art of home-making than I ever was." I looped a finger in the neck strap and pulled him closer for a kiss. Our lips bumped together all too briefly and when he pulled back I continued, "Really, Gil, it is a little bizarre. Remember last year? Did we even have a tree?"

He shook his head. "And I think we went to one of the casino's for dinner."

"No, that was New Year's Eve. We were at home during Christmas Eve but you got called out early that morning to a scene and I made a trip into the lab. We exchanged gifts in your office. I don't remember what we ate but I don't think either of us cooked. I was so big and we were both so tired. Hell, once we made it home, I'm not sure we even left the bedroom."

"You and that memory of yours. Do you recall what we were wearing?"

"At the office? Well, I was wearing one of my maternity suits. The green one with the hide-it-all empire waist and you were in your standard shirt and pants. After we got home? Not much." His eyes flashed and I really wished we could have excused ourselves and snuck upstairs but it would hardly be good form to leave the babies with our guests while we did the mad monkey tumble. The sly grin on Gil's face said he knew what I was thinking so I figured I'd better keep talking. "Far cry from that this time around. I have to say, the whole thing has got me a little freaked with how quickly we've moved from being crime-fighting, workaholic bachelors to domestic bliss. If I didn't have the stretch marks as proof that I'd given birth, I'd swear I'd been transplanted into someone else's life."

Gil's eyebrows lifted but he kept stirring his sauce, used to my moments of temporary insanity. "I would have thought the pre-mature labor and being stranded in the showhome during one of the worst storms Vegas has had in years would have made quite an impression too. It certainly made one on me. Sara, with the history you and I share, it's no surprise that you wanted our first Christmas as a family to be special. You'll adjust. We both will."

"Or go broke in the process."

He nodded, tasting the sauce and removing it from the heat. "I'm sure that this is a well deserved departure from the sparseness we used to live with. We can afford an indulgence like this as long as it happens only once every five years or so, so stop worrying about it. We just need a little practice getting used to it. Another Christmas or two and this will feel like old hat."

I looped my arms around his neck and squeezed gently. "I like the sound of that. Looking ahead to next year. Of all the gifts I received this year, that has to be the one I prize most of all. You give me hope, Gil. Not to mention a vision of a future that I had no idea was possible for me to be part of."

The devilish glint was back. "Well, if I had have known that, I could have saved myself the three hundred dollars I spent on your bracelet."

I gasped and tried to pull out of his arms. "Three hundred?! You're not serious!"

"I mean, if you're having shopper's remorse, we could always return it…"

"Along with your new software and that first edition Theroux?" I teased back.

"Hey, I'm not the one having issues with all this excess. Don't drag me into this."

I held up my arm to admire the only piece of jewelry I was currently wearing besides my wedding bands. "I love this bracelet. I'm a little afraid to wear it now because I'm not sure it's going to survive my curious little children's hands, but it's on my wrist now and that's where it's staying."

There was another kiss then, a little more heated but unfortunately just as brief as the one previous before we broke apart and served food onto platters. Within minutes, everyone had assembled at our table, high chairs and all and began dishing out both our offerings and the items they had brought with them from home. There was laughter and baby babbling and outrageous teasing, a far cry from the miserable holidays I'd been exposed to as a child. It was simply and sweet and so normal that I took a few moments to watch before I served myself. When everyone had settled in, and the triplets had settled into their organic baby food, I stood quietly and lifted my glass high. "No speeches, just a simple toast. To family."

"To family." The phrase echoed around the table, and mixed with the clinking of glasses and the gurgles of excited children, it created the most beautiful pocket of noise anyone could hope to hear. For that brief window in time, everyone we cared about was happy and safe and exactly where they were supposed to be. I think, deep down, I knew it was foolish to ask for more but I couldn't help it. Who wouldn't want more? With any luck, this would be the first of many such occasions in our new home. At the very least, the triplets' first Christmas would be a memory I would treasure for a very long, long time.

_A/N: Obviously I had hoped to have this up by Christmas Eve at the very latest. Once again, circumstances conspired against me but considering that those circumstances were of the best kind for a change, I can't really be sorry. For the first time in longer than I can remember, for two whole days, there was no rushing or impatience or silly arguments. There was just family and the simplicity of being grateful that we had time to share together._

_This piece is extremely fluffy and sentimental but as I said my holidays turned out to be just this way so I guess it just spilled over on our favorite pair. Hoping you and yours found some of that fluffiness too and managed to hold onto enough of it to see you through the next year. Happy Holidays._


	5. Chapter 5

By Definition: Book IV: The Rise of the Triplets

Part V

_MARRIAGE, n._

_-a word which always means commitment - but so does insanity _

_-a delightful form of combat where you get to sleep with the enemy_

_-an investment that pays big dividends if you manage to keep up the interest_

_- is made out of two toothbrushes but a single tube of toothpaste_

_(From _Lee Daniel Quinn's book, Quinn's Devious Dictionary)

*********************************************************

It was the end of a very long day. Gil, Jim, Catherine and I were sitting on the back deck, armed with two healthy bottles of wine and enough cheese and crusty French bread to feed an army. We'd already made away with our first bottle of a delicate sparkling red and were more than ready to pop the cork on another. The sun was just setting; the multi-coloured trails of the night sky hovering at the edge of our vantage point, waiting to blanket the horizon in soft inky clouds.

"It's so peaceful here," Catherine murmured, settling back in her lounger and toasting our group with her glass.

"Don't blink," my husband returned with a rueful grin. "This is only temporary."

I nodded, checking my watch. "Yes, the one o'clock feeding is fast creeping up on us."

"I remember those," Catherine said with the glint of nostalgia in her eyes. "Being so exhausted you can barely pull yourself out of bed. Wondering how in the hell you're going to be able to get up the next morning and go to work. How you're going to pay the next bill. But you do it. You haul yourself out of bed and pick her up and she stops crying making you feel like the most incredible person in the universe. And the rest? It doesn't matter...none of it matters when you hold that soft little body in your arms. She smiles at you and the weight of the world lifts. Everything else ceases to exist but the two of you." She chuckled at her own words, her tender smile suddenly turning wicked. "Mind you...those are the nights when she stops crying. Then there are the others..."

I took a deep sip of my wine, threading my fingers through my head. "Yes. The others. When there is nothing that will pacify and soothe. There is nothing that will coax a distraught child back to sleep and there is simply not enough caffeine in the world to help you through it. On those nights you feel like the worst parent in the world because you are utterly helpless to make things right."

Catherine nodded in sympathy, grinning madly. "Good times," she laughed. "Good times. So how did the party go today?"

Gil fielded that question. "Pretty much what you'd expect. The kids had a ball...the verdict is still out on the parents." The triplets had celebrated their first birthday under the sun and though the rest of the team had been able to make it, Jim and Catherine were unfortunately detained.

"Tell me you took lots of pictures," Catherine said, leaning across the table to nab a square of cheese.

"You need to ask? I'm living with the original shutterbug here. We have photos, we have video...I think we even have pre-designed commemorative scrapbook pages thanks to Greg and my forced bedrest period pre-birth. Believe me, the event was well documented."

"Yay! Baby Triplet overload! Can't wait to see it all."

I shook my head at her antics. "Let's just hope you're as enthusiastic at the end. There's a good chance that once we let Gil start, we may not be able to get him to stop."

Gil took my teasing in stride. "It's not that bad. There can't be more than…five…six…weeks of footage. Tops."

"What kills me is that he has it all categorized and annotated."

Catherine snickered gleefully. "Can't find his monthly expenditures on that mess of a desk of his but in this he's more anal that you!"

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank-you," I replied, raising my glass in response. I leaned back and then started squirming in my chair, feeling that something was definitely out of place.

"New dance, Sara?"

I smirked at Jim. "I think I have icing in my underwear."

Having just taken a sip, Jim almost choked. "I'd ask how you managed that but I'm not sure I want to know."

"Probably happened while I was helping Dani get changed. She was coated in the stuff. All up and down her arms."

" I suppose they all were," Jim said.

"No," I said, grinning at the memory. "Nicole barely had any on her. You know her. She's such a fussy little thing. Greg and Elsa ending up having to spoon feed her to get her to try the cake. She liked it well enough but wasn't willing to get dirty to have some."

"What about Aaron?" Catherine asked.

"Aaron sort of had his own style. He just dove right in. Face first. No hands required," Gil said, miming his son's antics at the table earlier that day.

I laid a hand on Gil's arm, shaking with laughter. "For a moment there I was afraid he was going to suffocate!"

It was Gil's turn to raise his glass. "Here's to 365 days of triplets and still being sane enough to tell the tale."

"Here here," we all answered, each taking another healthy sip.

We were all quiet for a moment and then Catherine said, "I still find it hard to believe how much things have changed for you two…well, for all of us…in such a short time. Looking back now, what, if anything, would you change?"

I thought about that for a moment and then came up with the most honest answer I could. "Nothing."

That surprised everyone. "Come on, Sara," Jim prodded. "Nothing?"

"Nope," I said, finding deep amusement in the shock on all of their faces.

It was Gil's turn to try. "Not even the Hail Mary rush to emergency? The craziness of the storm and the fact that we almost delivered them in a show home?"

I stuck to my guns. "Nope."

Catherine cackled. "Look at her grin. She's lost it. Having children has cost your wife her sanity." There was more laughter, including mine, and a few comments about other things that Gil and I would certainly rather have not lived through a second time but it didn't alter my opinion one bit. "Okay," she said, around a cracker thick with spread, "you're looking way too smug. I'm sure you're dying to tell us exactly what your reasoning is. I'm sure it's some high brow theoretical concept that us mortals have no hope to understand. "

"You give me far too much credit, Cat. You know I don't buy into any of that existential, new wave stuff." More laughter met that statement proving that my friends and my husband had me pegged correctly as just the opposite. I made a face at them and polished off the rest of my glass, so thankful that I had stopped breast feeding and was once again able to enjoy a glass of wine when I wished without fear of tainting my breast milk. "No, seriously guys, I wouldn't change a thing for fear that I'd lose what came after. I mean, it would have to have some effect, right? Changing the events of the past would have to have some consequence and I…I just hope if I were given that choice that I would have the sense to refuse it all together." I poured myself a second glass and waxed philosophically. "Balance, my friends. The secret of the universe is all about balance."

"I see your point," Gil said supportively. "Many cultures believe that a disruption in the natural order offsets everything else. Any change could theoretically have that effect."

I clinked glasses with him. "There you go." Just as I was about to suggest breaking out a deck of cards for a few rounds of poker, the baby monitor began to squawk. "Oh oh. Gentlemen place your bets."

"That's Nicole," Gil said, putting his glass on the table and climbing to his feet.

"No way. Five bucks says it's Dani," I replied, holding out a hand on his arm to encourage him to sit down again. "Anyway, it's my turn. You did last night's one am shift."

"Yes, but you planned the party and had to do most of the clean-up while I took that call from the lab." He was already moving to the patio doors. "Sit, Sara. I'm fine."

Catherine sighed. "That was nice of him. I wish Eddie had been so accommodating."

I snorted. "Nice? Right. His taking the one am feeding means I get the six am wake up call but I'm not really complaining because Elsa helps with that one." I wrinkled my nose. "That sounded ungrateful, didn't it?" Both Catherine and Jim shook their heads politely but I wasn't satisfied. "I meant what I said, earlier. I wouldn't change a single thing. I know exactly how lucky I am."

There were footsteps coming toward us and I glanced up in surprise at Gil's quick return. "That was fast."

"False alarm," he told me, swiping my cheek gently with his lips before resuming his seat. "She was caught in her blanket. I readjusted it and she settled right back in. And since neither of the other two was moving I got the hell out of there as fast as I could."

I wanted to do a little happy dance but I also didn't want to jinx it. "Wow. Do you think we're over this late night feeding hurdle?"

"Could be," my husband said, "but it's more likely that they were just so tired out from all of the excitement today that they've decided to post-pone the wake up call."

"Hush. I can dream, can't I?"

He looked at me then, one of those deeply contented, totally intense stares that made me feel like I was the most beautiful person on earth and I blushed with pleasure and sent one back at him.

"Hmmm, um, Jim?" There was some shuffling across the table from us.

"Yes, Catherine?" More shuffles and then the sound of chairs being pushed back.

"I hope you don't mind but I'm really tired. Think it's time I said goodnight," she said, retrieving her purse.

"Yeah," Jim said with a chuckle. "Me too. Night you guys."

"Thanks for having us."

We walked them to the door, exchanged hugs and then locked up for the evening. I leaned back against the panel, reaching out a hand to touch Gil's face. "Dust," I whispered, my eyes twinkling at our on-going private joke.

He caught my hand, flipped it palm up and examined it thoroughly. "Liar," he whispered. "I see no evidence of dust residue on your skin." His tongue flicked out and delivered the most delicious of caresses right in the center of my palm.

I leaned in, drawing my lips along the line of his jaw. "You're just too smart for me, Grissom. I confess. I made it up so I could have my wicked way with you."

"Wicked way, huh? I like the sound of that." His lips took mine and in that single kiss lay my whole world. That kiss was worth every lonely night, every dangerous job, every hurtful thing I'd ever experienced before I'd found my way to his arms and it was suddenly very important that I tell him so. But when I lifted my head, slowly, breaking the kiss, words deserted me. All I could do was stare at him and hope he understood.

At first he looked concerned, but then his mouth softened, his eyes crinkled, and his arms came around me to hold me close to his heart. "I love you too. And you were right. I wouldn't change a thing." He pulled away only enough to clasp my hand and led me upstairs.


	6. Chapter 6

By Definition: Book IV:

Part VI

**FULL NAME:** What you call your child when you're mad at him/her.

**HINDSIGHT:** What one experiences from changing too many diapers.

**QUIET:** A state of household serenity which occurs before the birth of the first child and occurs again after the last child has left for college.

Rinnnnnngggg!!!! Rinnnnggggg!!!!!

"Yes?"

"What, no 'hello'?

"Gil?"

"I know I haven't been home in sixteen hours but I would have hoped you could still recognize my voice."

I was going to answer with something suitably sarcastic but just then a grey ball of fluff streaked across the living room followed by a diaper with legs. "Dani…Danielle Elizabeth Grissom…no! Do not bite the kitty! Here, here's the blocks you wanted." Though my voice hadn't risen at all, the firm tone had the desired effect. My dark-haired little imp did an about face and squealed with delight as she toddled over to me and took the plastic bin from my hands.

"Thanuuu, Mama," she said and plopped down at my feet to dig into the tub, oblivious to the world now that she could start building.

"Thank goodness!" I breathed into the phone. "She's been running me ragged all day!"

"Dani? She's the easiest one to distract out of all of them. Give her some building blocks and she's content for hours."

I took a deep breath and then did a quick count to four before I answered, telling myself to hold onto my patience because, hey, Gil hadn't been here, right? He had no idea what my day had been like so far, right? The counting worked and I was able to answer evenly, "I wasn't able to find them earlier-"

"They're on the toy shelf, third bin in from the bottom. She was playing with them the other day."

"No, dear, that's where the bin is supposed to be. It wasn't there when I looked. In fact, I've had to turn the whole house upside down looking for it. So…since we're on the subject, did you put the bin in the laundry hamper?"

There was a choked laugh on the other end of the line. "Ah, no. No, I value my skin a little too much to play stupid games like that."

I plopped down on the sofa next to Aaron and cuddled him against me. Seeing that I was stopping to rest, Nicole left her action figures in a pile on the floor and climbed up to sit on my other side. "Well, then, I'm forced to conclude that there's a conspiracy afoot. How about it, you little gremlins, did one of you put Dani's blocks in the hamper?" I was half-joking, not really expecting an answer but got one all the same.

Aaron blinked at me sleepily and gave a mighty yawn. He'd been out in the sandbox all morning, moving dirt and making lakes with buckets of water. He was ready for a nap. It was doubtful I'd get anywhere with him at the moment so I gave his back a rub as he lay against my leg.

I swung my gaze down to my other daughter who sat watching her sister play. "What about you, Nicole? Did you put Dani's blocks in the hamper?"

Her clear gaze met mine directly and she giggled with glee. "Hide!" she said, and covered her face with her hands. She then opened them quickly shouting, "BOO!"

Before I could interpret, Gil's voice sounded in my ear. "Am I to understand that Nicole decided to play 'peek-a-boo' with Dani's blocks?"

"Um…yeah…yes…that's what I'm getting. I think. Um…that's pretty high reasoning for fourteen months. Is she supposed to be able to do that yet?"

"Beats me. Wasn't in any of the baby books I read."

Aaron snuggled in closer and patted my leg. "Banky," he said, reaching a hand to me.

Uh oh. That wasn't good. Usually, his blanket went everywhere he went. I scanned the nearby surfaces answering, "I don't know where your blanket is, honey. We'll have to look for it, okay?"

Another delighted giggle sounded from my other side. "Banky! Boo!" Nicole shouted and pushed off the cushion with a plop. The second she found her balance she was off and running.

I groaned and began to give chase, muttering, "Hang on Aaron, we may just have been given a clue."

"What? Did she hide the blanket as well?" Gil asked.

"We're about to find out," I replied. More grateful than ever for our open floor plan, I trailed Nicole to kitchen and watched in fascination as she opened the pots and pans drawer and pulled out the missing blanket.

She flung her hands wide saying, "DAAAAAA!!!" and then scampered back to the living room to play with her action figures once more.

For a second I just stood there, grinning, a little too surprised to do much more than laugh. "She…she just handed me the blanket and threw her hands up like…like a magician! I've never seen anything like it."

"Forget that. I'm shocked that not only did she hide the blanket, she remembered where it was as soon as you said it."

"What is that they say? It's always the quiet ones you have to watch. And Nicole has always been the quiet one." Nicole was on the move again. Somewhere, she'd found a bucket and was using it to collect a few of her favorite stuffies. She gathered a pile of them and then slipped into the ball tent we'd set up in the corner of the room. Dani watched her go in but then went back to her blocks. Aaron rolled off the couch to see what Nicole was up to but as soon as I offered him the blanket, he plopped down in his little spongy chair and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"MMmm," he mumbled into the phone. "Yes. Used to worry me."

Figuring that everyone was occupied for a couple of minutes, I retreated to the kitchen and tried to get a personal chore out of the way. "Really?" I prodded, opening up the dishwasher and pulling out a clean set of plates. "You never said."

"No. Guess I didn't. Superstitious maybe."

"How so."

"I was a little worried that she'd taken after my side of the family."

I frowned, and paused as I reached for some bowls, but then my mental gears caught onto his meaning. "Oh…you mean…you thought she might not be able to hear all that well."

"To be frank, at one point I was worried she couldn't hear at all." His voice was gruff and I could tell it took a lot of effort for him to put those thoughts into words.

"And you were afraid to say anything because it might make it real? That sounds like my kind of reasoning…a far cry from your normal, 'take it as it comes' attitude."

"She's my little girl."

I smiled to myself. _And that says it all_, I finished for him silently. "Well, their hearing tests came back fine at their one year marker. As near as anyone can tell, everything checks out." There was a nylon rustling and a little infant squawking and I stopped for a moment to assess what was happening. Holding the phone away a little, I called over, "Dani…Nicole…you have to share the ball tent. There's lots of room for both of you. Sorry, Gil. Go on."

"You have no idea how relieved I was."

"What?" I was watching the girls and the tent, slightly distracted so it took me a second to reply. "Oh. Yeah, I do. I do." I dropped some cutlery into the sliding drawer by the stove. "Now, tell me you're on you're way home."

There was an apologetic throat clearing on the other end and I knew what was coming before he said it. "Sorry. No can do."

"Gil-"

"Scold me all you want, but it's out of my hands. I've got to wait for lab results. This case is top priority. And we're really short-handed. Hell, I'd call you in if I could but with Elsa away…"

"Okay…okay…I'm not mad…not really…just disappointed. I haven't seen much of you this week and I was really hoping for some grown-up time after the kids go to bed." On the heels of my words, three plastic balls from the ball tent skittered across the floor. "The balls stay in the tent, guys," I called out to the children automatically as I put away coffee mugs.

"Running you ragged, are they?"

A blue ball bounced over the couch. "Honestly, Gil, you know they're my world but I need a break. A little change of pace." Two green balls followed suit. "No throwing, please."

"This is a little sooner than we'd discussed. Are you sure you're ready for something like this? You know you'd miss them every minute you were away."

Another ball flew in my direction. Red this time. I sighed, but didn't bother to comment on that. My mind was focused on my conversation with Gil. "You're right I would. I do, even when I'm away when I'm running errands, but this week has been a little more challenging than most. I wouldn't mind popping into the lab for a couple of hours. Give my brain a little recharge. I'm not saying I want to go back full time or anything but I think a few hours a week might do me a world of good." My last comment met with dead air. "Gil? Still there?"

"Yes. One second. I'm just going down the hall…I need to find…"

"Who?" I asked, when his voice drifted off. "Who?" I asked again, when he didn't answer.

"Greg," he said, and then I heard him ask, "David? Have you seen Greg?"

There was muted noise in the background but from the few word I caught, my husband was being told that Greg was in the break-room. Then there were more footsteps and I heard Greg's voice sounding on the other end. More muted dialogue as I waited impatiently on the line for my husband to return his attention to me. When I'd waited what I believed was a reasonable length, I broke in with, "Gil? Do you want to call me back?"

"No. No. We're through. Dammit."

"What?"

"I lost the pot."

"What pot? Wait, don't tell me you fell for another one of Greg's stupid betting pools."

Gil laughed. "Yeah. He suckered most of the office in on this one."

"Really. And what was the topic de jour? Obviously something to do with me."

"Yep."

"Gil, you know I don't like being the subject of-"

"I didn't think you'd mind this time. The pot goes to the person's favorite charity. I would have given it to Dr. Gilbert's school fund-raising foundation if I'd won. As it is, it looks like Catherine's getting it for the Victim's Assistance program."

Mollified, I shrugged and said, "Gee, sounds like something I might have wanted to be part of but I'm guessing that would have defeated the purpose."

"Yes."

"Soooo…what was the topic exactly?"

"How long it would be after the triplets' birth for you to start talking about coming back to work…even part-time."

"Ahhh. I see. Cute."

"We all knew it would come up eventually. Only one person took the position that it wouldn't."

"Who was that?"

"Conrad."

"Ha! Sounds more like wishful thinking!"

"Perhaps. One sec." Again there was muted muttering. "Sar?"

"Yes?"

"I have to go. The results are in. If they're what I expected then I might make it home for dinner."

"And if not?"

"I'll call."

"Alright. Bye. Be careful."

"I will. See you soon."

I hung up and slipped the phone into the pocket of my jeans, suddenly becoming aware of how quiet things had gotten over the duration of the call. There was no movement from the play area. I hadn't seen any of them leave so I was a little unnerved by the silence. On careful feet I approached the main area and snuck a peek over the sofa. No sign of them but there were brightly coloured balls everywhere. Of course, that gave me a valuable clue as to where to check next. I crept a little closer and bent to look inside the ball tent. There, in the middle of the floor lay my children, huddled together in a make-shift ring, sleeping soundly.

They looked so…so…oh god, I couldn't even think of a word to describe it and my heart just melted at the sight of them…and all I could think is that if I'd been at work, I would have missed this.

I fished for my phone and hit the camera feature. I snapped off several shots and then left the scene long enough to get my good camera and squeezed off a couple more. When I was finished, I backed away as quietly as I could and sat on the corner of the sofa and just watched them sleep.

_Maybe…just maybe_, I thought to myself, _maybe it was a little too soon to be thinking about going back to work._


	7. Chapter 7

By Definition: Book IV: Part 7

_**GENIUSES**__: Amazingly, all of Mom's kids._

_**QUIET**__: A state of household serenity which occurs before the birth of the first child and occurs again after the last child has left for college._

_**HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? **_

_You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should  
like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.  
- Alan, age 10_

_No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it  
all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.  
- Karen, age 10_

"Shhhh."

"What?"

"SHHHH." I pulled away, listening intently. There it was again. I sighed.

Gil was listening too. "Footsteps?"

"Um-hmm." There was a smattering of giggles and more footsteps. "The little stinkers. Thought you said they were asleep."

"Well, the evidence was there. Eyes closed, bodies still, lying down...all three of them...at the same time. Had me fooled." He looked down at me, his eyes sparkling in that special way of his, a grin crooking his mouth. "Maybe they'll settle down." More giggling followed by a crash had us both groaning and getting up out of bed.

"And maybe not," I half groaned, half laughed as I slid into my robe and slippers. "I don't know why either of us are surprised. We should have expected this. First night in toddler beds and all." On silent, but sleep-deprived feet we made our way down the hall to the home office we'd set up in the spare bedroom next to ours. With a few clicks of the mouse, Gil pulled up the monitor's camera screen, giving us a clear picture IN LIVING COLOUR as to what our trio of monsters were up to. Seeing that no one was in danger of losing a limb or an eye, I dropped into Gil's lap and watched as our triplets took turns going from one bed to another and hiding under the covers. They'd lie there, giggling their heads off until one decided to make a break for it to another bed and the other two gave chase. "So much for all of those books that said moving from the crib to a bed could be a terrifying change for kids so young. They're having a ball." And so were we for that matter. Watching their antics was more entertaining than seeing Greg and Hodges try to one up one each other.

"It's not like we had a choice, Sar. Dani was climbing out of her crib a month ago. By rights, we should have made the transition then. We knew it was only a matter of time."

"Monkey see, monkey do. I know. I know. It didn't take long for Aaron and Nicole to follow. I was just hoping for a little more time. They're growing up so fast." I sighed. "It seems like one of them will learn something new and the other two imitate and before you know it, they're on to the next big thing. Crawling, walking, talking...everything's like it's on fast forward." I snorted. "They've knocked the hell out of those, 'What to Expect..." books. Keeping up with them has become a full time job!"

Gil settled a little deeper into the chair, taking me with him. "You know what's next," he whispered into my hair.

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Potty training. I'm terrified, Gil. Absolutely terrified."

My evil husband laughed. "It's the natural progression, Sar."

"Yeah, and if it's done wrong it could scar them for life!"

"I'm sure that with enough patience and love, things will go along as well as everything else has. There's nothing to be concerned about."

I eyed him pointedly. "Well, good! If you're that confident about it how about you stay home with them and I'll deal with keeping the lab running."

He began to chuckle before I'd even finished the sentence. "Decomp and bugs vs sippy cups and potty training. What a choice!" He wrapped me closer. "But I'm up for it. Just remember, you get the lab...you also get Ecklie...oh, and Hodges."

I frowned. "Well, that made my choice easier. Bring on the Potty Party."

"You'll do great," Gil said, but at my deliberate cough he corrected himself. "Ah, right. We'll do great."

"I sure as hell hope so."

He took my hand and in a sweet, old fashioned manner he said, "You, Sara (kiss) Sidle (kiss) Grissom (kiss) are a natural. I knew you would be." His lips settled on my palm for a longer smooch before he went back to hug mode.

My eyebrow crooked at his outrageous comment. Me, a 'natural'? Ha! I pinned him with a stare. "You did, did you? Never a moment's doubt, right?"

"Not a one. Domesticity. It fairly radiates from your very centre!" His eyes danced with a teasing glint.

"What was it, Gil, that first tipped you off? The way I had every fast food delivery number memorized for four square miles of my apartment?"

"Only four miles. Hmm, I could have sworn-"

"The way I'd stated in no uncertain terms, 'no marriage/no kids' from almost the first day we'd met?"

"Actually, the first time that issue came up was after the big fight the FIRST time I asked you to marry me-"

Ignoring him completely, I continued on blithely, "Or was it my nurturing nature and all around sweetness of spirit?"

It was hard to say whose grin was wider. "What is it they say about first impressions and judging books by their covers?"

I shrugged, only half amused now. "All I know is if you saw something there, you must have been looking fairly deep because I sure as hell didn't see it."

"I loved you. I knew."

My chuckle was soggy. "Only you, Gil...only you..." I curled into his chest, content to be close, complete in his embrace as we watched the kids slowly start to tire of their game and settle in for the night. And when all was still and the only sound in our house was the soft rasp of our breathing, I whispered, "Thank-you."

"For what?" he asked me just as softly.

"My parents never had this...closeness. This peace. I don't know anyone who does. It's sad in one way but it's all the more precious for me because of that, you know?" I pressed a kiss into his neck. "It's a rare gift you've given me, Gil."

"It doesn't begin to measure up to what you've given me," he replied, with a nod at the screen. "Sleepy?"

"Yes," I said, pulling myself out of the chair and tugging him along in my wake.

"Bedtime?"

"Not quite," I said with just enough flirt to clue him in. My husband is a very smart man. He caught on right away.


	8. Chapter 8

By Definition: Book IV: The Rise of the Triplets

Part Eight

_**Life: What happens while you're making plans for other things.**_

_"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."_

**- Karl - age 5**

_"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."_

**- Terri - age 4**

Walking into the kitchen that morning, the first thing I heard was the laughter of my children and the sweet sound of my wife's voice singing. The first sight I saw was of my wife dancing barefoot with my son, the boy still in his pyjamas but his mother dressed to kill in a red power suit that she hadn't been able to wear since her fourth month of pregnancy with our triplets.

"_Good morning starshine  
The earth says hello  
You twinkle above us  
We twinkle below_

Good morning starshine  
You lead us along  
My love and me as we sing  
Our early morning singing song

Gliddy gloop gloopy  
Nibby nobby nooby  
La la la lo lo..."

Aaron was laughing his head off as Sara swung him and swayed with him, while the girls danced 'ring around the rosey' style with Elsa, our nanny.

"Well, now, this is a happy group to come home to," I said, dropping my briefcase on the counter and bracing myself for impact.

"Daddy!"

"Daddy's home!"

"DADDY!"

Three little bodies hurled themselves against him and they were right. He was home. "Hello munchkins. Did you have a good sleep?"

Nicole shook her head happily while Danielle and their brother both began to prattle on about pillows falling off the bed and the sun being too bright when they got up.

"Hello, dear," Sara said as she squeezed into the tiny circle of arms they'd made and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Good shift?'

"Better than some, worse than others," I replied easily enough. "We got a lot done."

"Well, that's good to hear. Hate to be walking into a war zone on my first official day back. Ecklie finish up the paperwork on the transfers?"

"You need to ask?" Ecklie was a paperwork fanatic.

She smirked in her smart-ass way. "No, I suppose not. So, that means we're all set?"

"Yes. As of eight pm this evening, Catherine officially takes over the lab as nightshift supervisor. Nick officially assumes the role as assistant supervisor and Greg, Hodges and I transfer to days first thing tomorrow morning."

"Oh Yaaa! Does that mean that you and I will officially sleep in the same bed at the same time for the first time in six months? Officially be on the same sleep schedule. Same meal schedule. Actually act like we're an honest to goodness couple?" The joy in Sara's voice was something to behold. I couldn't help grinning back.

"Yes, I do believe it does."

She swung into another spin, this time sans child. "See Elsa, I told you it was going to be a good day! The sun is shining, the kids had a good rest, my husband made it home in time to see me off, and I look pretty good for a woman who's the mother of three heading to work for my first official day back since my maternity leave."

The woman in question looked up from the cereal she'd been pouring for the little ones with an answering grin. "It's good for me too. Now Greg and I can finally start on some family plans of our own."

Her words sort of sailed over my head as I was still coping with an armful of children but Sara caught her meaning immediately. "Oh...oh...Elsa! You're terrible! Why didn't you say anything! When did he do it? When?"

"When what?" I asked, helamonster walking my children to the table in a clump and assisting them into their chairs. "And who?"

"Look at her face, Gil! Greg proposed! He proposed!"

"He did?" I asked with a frown. "He didn't say anything about it at the lab last night."

Elsa shook her head, her golden curls bouncing. "That's because I asked him not to. I wanted to tell you and I wanted to tell you here in this beautiful kitchen when the sun was shining...not in some dark lab with creepy things all about." Her smile widened as she teased us about our place of business and she held her hand forward so we could get a look at her engagement ring.

"Oh, it's lovely! Really, Elsa. Just beautiful. Did you help pick it out or did he surprise you with it?" Sara asked, bending in to get a good look.

"We went together," Elsa replied, sighing with the memory. "He took me out for an early dinner yesterday and proposed with...get this...one of those toy rings you find in candy boxes. It was so cute...so...Greg! We went to look at rings right after. Then we went out into the desert and just spent hours making plans and gazing at the sky..." Her voice trailed off, her expression dreamy and so happy it was had everyone in the room smiling at her in return...yes, even the kids though I'm not sure if they really knew what was going on.

"Well look," Sara said, "I've got to run but I'm not working that late tonight. Why don't I see if Lindsey can babysit for a couple of hours so we can take you and Greg out to dinner to celebrate? Gil?"

"I think I can make that work if Lindsey is free. I'll text her and find out, invite Catherine while I'm at it, that is if you and Greg are free?"

Elsa nodded at my query, already pulling out her blackberry. "I'm sure he'd love that. Just a sec, and I'll see if he can invite Nick and Mandy."

"I'll tag Jim Brass. If Lindsey isn't free, we'll just dine here and invite the gang over," Sara said, finishing up her text. "Now I've really got to run. Bye kiddies!" she practically sang as she swooped low to kiss each cheek. "Mommy loves you. Have fun with Elsa!" Then she swung around and kissed me. "Have a nice sleep. See you soon."

"Stay safe," I said quietly for her ears alone.

"Love you too," she said just as softly and gave me a quick squeeze before heading out the door.

As it turned out, Lindsey Willows wasn't available to babysit so, as planned, the party was shifted to our place. Good thing too because when Sara walked in the door that evening, it was obvious at first glance that she wasn't feeling well. Her skin was pale...chalky even, with faint green lines around her mouth and bruise-like shadows under her eyes. It was such a dramatic change from her healthy glow from that morning that both Elsa and I stopped in our tracks when she came into the kitchen.

"Sara? Are you alright?" The words popped out without so much as a thought.

"You don't look well at all," Elsa said, just as concerned, wiping her hands on a dish cloth, and walking to Sara's side.

Rather than dropping her usual, "I'm fine," into our laps, she shook her head. "I don't know, really. I just started feeling a little queasy on the drive home. It's really hot out there and I got caught in traffic so maybe...maybe...uh oh."

And that was it. Sara streaked to the downstairs bathroom in a flash of red and slammed the door tightly behind her.

I felt a tug on my pant leg and looked down to see Nicole frowning up at me with at super serious stare. "Mama sick?"

"Looks like it, munchkin, but I'm sure it's just a little tummy trouble. How about you help Elsa finish tidying up your toys and I'll go check."

"No party," Nicole said, still frowning. "Mama sick. Bed."

"Don't worry, Nikki. If your mother is that sick I'll make sure she rests. Now, go help pick up the toys. Uncle Greg's going to be here any minute."

For a moment, it didn't look like Nicole was sure she could leave something as important as her mother's health in my hands but then Elsa held out a hand to her and she went over to the living room easily enough.

Mere seconds later, I rapped on the bathroom door. "Sara? Can I come in or do you need a minute."

"You can come in," came the weak reply. "I think the worst is over for now."

I turned the handle of the knob and cracked the door open a little, surveying the scene before I came in completely. Sara was sitting on the floor, her upper body draped ragdoll style on the commode with her arms folded on top of the closed seat cover. Her cheek was flush against the cool porcelain and she'd stripped off her jacket and skirt so that she was clad only in a red satin slip.

"You look wiped." I soaked a face cloth in cold water and laid it carefully along the back of her neck.

"MMmmm. Feeling a little better, though. It's starting to pass. I'm just really tired."

"What do you think? Flu? Food poisoning?"

She half shrugged. "Thought so last night but...can't be. This is three nights in a row."

"Three nights? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. You were kind of busy with the switchover. We were on different schedules. I didn't think much of it, really. I had a pretty bad migraine the first night...one that hasn't completely gone away over the last couple of days and you know how I hate taking pills. I guess it just slipped my mind."

"Ok. Come on. I'm taking you to a doctor."

"No. No," she said firmly, but calmly. "There's no need for that. I don't want some stranger poking at me when there's no need. I'm not going to ruin everyone's plans because of a little stomach upset. If I felt it was something to be that concerned about I would have checked it out yesterday. That round was awful but...came on in a rush and then...well, I felt fine in an hour. Felt really good this morning. And I'm already feeling loads better now. I'll make an appointment tomorrow and see our family doctor then. I don't know...what... what's...oh...oh...my...goddddd..."

"What? What is it?"

She slapped her hand against the porcelain. "Crap. Not now. Not now. We're still in toilet training! Everyone's walking. Everyone's talking. We just got rid of the last jar of strained carrots! We'll be starting playschool in a year! I just went back to work! I mean, I'm happy. Who wouldn't be happy? If that's what it is, I'm very happy. I didn't think that we would...well, I hoped but really, I wasn't sure we'd be so lucky because...because you hear of so many people that are trying but can't. So of course I'm happy. B-But but...I was hoping to have a bit more time. Just a little more...maybe, when the kids were four...after we'd talked about it and the kids had learned their ABC's and could tie their own shoes..."

"Sara, what in the world are you...oh...oh...wait! You're not saying what I think you're saying?"

She lifted her head up, her face a mixture of bemusement and shock, and dropped her chin heavily on the heel of her hand. "Just catching up, Dear?" She closed her eyes, and her lips moved, counting. When she re-opened them, there was dry amusement twinkling in their depths. "Could be. I'm late."

"But we've been-"

"Using protection. Yes, most of the time...except..."

"The first night the kids slept in new beds."

"Yep. That would be just about right, wouldn't it, Bugman?" A tired laugh trickled from her. "But we both know the stats. Condoms are mostly effective but not one hundred percent. However, my money's on that night. I was in the perfect time of my cycle to conceive and if that's the case then I'm at...oh..."

"Six or seven weeks." Since my knees had chosen that particular moment to dissolve, I sat down weakly on the floor beside her.

She snickered then. "And if I am pregnant," she said with a terrible grin, "then I have to say that one part of me is greatly relieved."

"Why's that?"

"I've had such a craving for a t-bone steak, you have no idea!" she moaned, and reached out a hand to me. "I mean, mentally, the thought of eating red meat literally disgusts me but...I've had this urge...dare I say it? CRAVING...for close to a week. I just-I just can't-" She broke off, biting her bottom lip nervously. "Gil? What are we going...I mean...are we ready-?"

Seeing a sheen of tears swim into Sara's chocolate brown eyes, I leaned in close, pressing my cheek to hers and said softly, "The first thing we're going to do is get you upstairs and you're going to have a little rest before everyone arrives."

"Oh but Gil, there's a whole crowd coming over! I can't leave you two with all the work. After all it was my idea-"

"We're done. We've tidied and prepped appetizers and the pizza's been ordered. There's nothing left to do! Besides, I promised Nicole I would make sure you went to bed for a rest if needed and unless you want her on my case, you'll do as I say."

"Alright, alright, fine. I'll go take a rest."

"And while you're doing that, I'll slip down to the pharmacy and grab a couple of home pregnancy tests so that when you're ready, you can take one and see...if...you're...expecting." I kissed her with each of the last words, peppering her cheek with tiny, silly, pecks.

"And if I am?" she asked, the tears silently sliding down her cheeks.

"Then we'll be the happiest family of six you've ever seen."

"And if I'm not?"

"Then we'll continue to be the happiest family of five you've ever seen."

She moved into my arms, her arms around my neck, her body pressed tightly to mine as she curled into my lap. "I love you," she told me so seriously I had to restrain the urge to squeeze her even tighter.

"Don't ever stop."

_Author's Note: More quotes from real kids can be read here:_

_Continue reading at : __Funny Things Kids Say To Define "Love" ! | NowPublic News Coverage__.com/culture/funny-things-kids-say-define-love#ixzz1AsoHfkik_


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